Modern era · Socialist era
Proslav
the village of Michkur, a Tolstoyan colony and the western edge
Plovdiv's westernmost quarter is a former village: called Michkur until 1934, joined to the city in 1969. Its most curious chapter is the Tolstoyan agricultural colony that farmed 264 decares here from 1926 — land that later seeded the local collective farm.
Why this quarter matters
Proslav shows how Plovdiv grows by absorbing villages: Michkur became Proslav in 1934 and a quarter in 1969, and between those dates one of the region's most unusual communities flourished here — a Tolstoyan farming colony. A small history with a big question: what does a village gain and lose in becoming city.
For the visitor
- What to see
- The village street grid, the old yards and the city's edge at the Parvenetska river.
- How long
- About an hour, best by bicycle along Peshtersko Shose.
- When to come
- Spring and early autumn, when the yards are green.
- Food nearby
- Village shops and the odd tavern — not a tourist zone.
Where the name comes from
The old name Michkur was replaced with Proslav in 1934, during the mass renaming of settlements with non-Slavic names.
Getting there
Along Peshtersko Shose by city bus; the Sofia railway bisects the quarter, and to the west it meets the Parvenetska river.
Quarter timeline
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1912
The volunteers' village
Michkur villagers volunteer in the Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Corps during the Balkan War.
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1926
The Tolstoyan colony
A Tolstoyan community founds an agricultural colony on 264 decares; money troubles force it to divide the land in 1938.
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1934
Michkur becomes Proslav
The village receives its present name in the renamings of the 1930s.
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1945
Seed of the collective farm
The colony's farm becomes the foundation of the new labour-cooperative farm (TKZS).
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1969
A Plovdiv quarter
Proslav is annexed to the city and gradually knits into Smirnenski quarter to the east.
People, communities and institutions
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Community
The Tolstoyans
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Institution
The collective farm
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Community
The 1912 volunteers